UNSAVORY FELLOW Opens April 4 At Santa Monica Playhouse

Unsavory Fellow a new show will run Santa Monica Playhouse on the Main Stage, April 4-April 27, 2024. 

Written, directed, and performed by Nick James. Produced by Beck Bennion and Jess Faulstich. A guest production at Santa Monica Playhouse.

Nick James was originally from Cleveland, but spent his pivotal formative years growing up in Santa Monica, near the beach and the sunshine. In school, he wanted to be one of the cool kids, but the Midwestern transplant sometimes felt like more of a geek. His stepfather had warned him against falling in with the bad boys or, as he termed them, "unsavory fellows." Guess what happened?

Falling in with the bad crowd, he transforms, and his confidence and charisma expand exponentially. Possessed of an overactive imagination, his geographic proximity to Hollywood leads him to believe that he can become a star. In pursuit of a glamorous career in Hollywood, he then proceeds to make every mistake imaginable.

His handsome looks and abundant charm lead him into side gigs as a gigolo and as a supermodel in Japan. Inclinations towards brawling and substance abuse derail his progress. He becomes an independent filmmaker. He gets roles on film and television. Along the way, he woos and wins a beautiful wife and they have a son. Will the Unsavory Fellow finally realize his dreams, or will his tendency towards self-sabotage bring his world crashing down?

Nick James is the writer-director-performer of Unsavory Fellow. His professional credits include stage roles (Involuntary Homicide at The Actors Gang, Spoon River at Ruskin Group Theatre), stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, films for YouTube (for which he became the third most-subscribed-to comedian), stunt work (the CBS-TV movie Four Stars), feature film roles (Hard Evidence, Absolute Force, Faded Memories, Skippy), and his own films (We Gotta Get Buscemi, 51.50, and Santa Monica Film Festival winner An Eye for Talent).

Unsavory Fellow is a real-life Hollywood memoir like none other. Its catalog of events is so strange (and sometimes hilarious) that its narrative couldn't be made up. It also serves as a cautionary tale for anyone coming here to pursue their Hollywood dreams. Take some advice from the Unsavory Fellow.

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